African-American senator pens ‘Open Letter to America’

AUSTIN - He is a prominent lawyer, longtime lawmaker and eloquent voice in the Texas Senate on issues of statewide importance.

But Sen. Royce West still recalls being called “boy” when he was starting out in the Dallas County district attorney’s office, the word coming from a supervisor he describes as a “good guy” who didn’t understand its effect on an African-American man.

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That word is a detail in an “Open Letter to America” written by West after the deaths of black men at the hands of police in Minnesota and Louisiana, and the killing of Dallas officers on duty at a peaceful demonstration over those deaths.

West attended the July 7 demonstration, which occurred in his Dallas senatorial district.

“There were a lot of young people there that I respect. There were children there,” said West.

That night, West walked down the street to do a television interview. “As soon as I got in the building, that’s when the shots rang out,” he said.

“I hope and I pray that we don’t allow those officers to be forgotten and that their deaths will not be in vain,” he said. “The best way to pay tribute to them is to reduce the chances of this happening again.”

The path to change includes inspiring real conversation, he said, which he hopes to do with his open letter, “Questions from a Black Man.”

“Why are you afraid … of ME?” it begins. “Why is it that when you approach me, you feel a sense of insecurity? And when I approach you, fear shows in your eyes.” The letter asks if perceptions are shaped by lessons learned in the home or at school.

The open letter asks, “Can you understand why a grown man would not like to be called ‘boy?’”

It urges an open heart, an open hand “to reach out for mine” and an open mind.

“Maybe then, you wouldn’t be afraid,” it says. “We’ve asked these questions for generations. I hope and pray that our sons and grandsons don’t have to ask them again

West said while he wanted the letter to feel personal, it’s “not about me.”

“It’s about how African-Americans in general feel about how they’re being perceived by their white colleagues, and persons who just don’t know them. It’s my trust that it will stimulate some conversations between Anglos and African-Americans so they can have a conversation about perceptions,” he said.

West said some people have thanked him and have said they’ll use the letter to start such conversations.

He also has had other reactions. One man he knows praised the letter in an email, but added that he had heard West didn’t want to use his business services because he’s a Republican. West said he plans to reach out to reassure the man that’s not true.

And when he showed the letter to friends before distributing it, he said, he got a heated reaction from one.

“One of my Anglo friends just became livid that I would even think that she was raised certain way to perceive people differently. She let me have it,” he said, adding that he assured her that he understands people come from different experiences.

“I’m hoping that Anglos will look at it and talk to some of their African-American friends and ask them, ‘Do you feel this way? Or have you ever felt this way?’” he said.

When West was called “boy” in his past, he said, a discussion was the way he resolved the issue.

“Once we had an opportunity to have a quiet moment, I said, ‘Listen, I don’t like being called ‘boy,’ and here’s why.’ He was very apologetic … It sensitized him to exactly how usage of that term could be misperceived,” West said.

The issue of race relations could be an emotional one in the upcoming legislative session, as it has been nationally. The Senate is presided over by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who received national attention after blaming the Black Lives Matter movement for the Dallas shootings. Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed increasing penalties for attacks on police.

“We’ll have a thoughtful conversation about it,” said West. He said he wants to ensure officers’ lives are protected but doesn’t want to see an entire movement painted with a broad brush based on the statements of some within it.

West also wants to see a focus on mental health services and on the divide between African American men and law enforcement as he looks to help “change the narrative that we have in this country.”

His open letter is part of that, too.

“I just thought it was time for someone to put something out there that everybody else was whispering about,” West said.